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“Yes.”
“What are you going to do?”
I took my coffee and sipped it, the bitter sting reminding me I was still alive. “Finish my survey.” Find the graves on Blackwood property.
“I’ll go with you.” He leaned back as Pam put a plate of sausage, eggs, and pancakes down in front of him.
“No thanks.” I slid my napkin into my lap as Pam served me.
“Elise, you can’t go out there alone. Not again.”
I wouldn’t. I intended to go back to campus and get a handful of undergraduates, lots of university attention, and a solid grid-by-grid inspection of Blackwood. The mass grave wouldn’t stay hidden with that sort of inspection. Once I found it, I’d figure out what the hell had gone on—what had gone wrong—at Blackwood. And I’d know for certain if Garrett was responsible for the deaths.
“You still in there?” Rory’s voice snapped me back to the dining room.
“Yeah, sorry. I’m not going alone. I want to get some backup from school. Bring some undergrads to speed up the process.”
He met my eyes. “Good. I’ll be there whenever you want to go. The sheriff won’t give me any shit about spending time with you. Protection is part of the job.”
“What about the mayor?”
“He won’t say anything.” He shrugged and speared a piece of sausage. “Sheriff Crow is the boss of me.”
“You weren’t able to find out anything else about Danny?” I tasted my grits, but gave up on them when I realized nothing could compare to the ones Ty whipped up at the diner.
“No. That’s a kicker.” He shook his head, his short sandy hair barely moving. “I can’t even trace him back to a house, under a bridge, anywhere. I don’t know where he was living. That sort of ruins the whole search for clues. I think he was just crazy, you know?”
I chewed through my disagreement and remained silent.
“Just like, found your dad out there, killed him. Found you out there, tried to kill you. Crimes of opportunity. He got lucky. You got unlucky.”
“Sure.” I bit into my bacon and tried to gauge whether Rory was truly clueless. My bullshit meter didn’t blink, but I’d been wrong before. The thought of Garrett, of the things I’d done with him, burned through me until I couldn’t eat another bite.
“I’m ready.” I folded my napkin next to my plate.
“Now?” Rory spoke around a mouthful of pancake.
“Yeah.” I stood as he took a gulp of coffee.
“Sure.” He followed me to my feet. “I was thinking it would be this afternoon. I have to run to the back of the Long property first, check on a report of a deer in the road. Can you wait for me to get back?”
I didn’t want to spend another minute in my room. With my mind made up, it was time to leave. Time to get started on finding the truth no matter how much it hurt. “I’ll just go with you.”
He put a hand on my shoulder. “There might be a dead deer. Is that okay?”
I wanted to laugh. I’d seen my father’s skull a few days ago. I could handle a deer.
THE SUV ROCKED along the gravel road, bumping over the back way out of the Lodge. A shotgun was locked upright between the front seats, and dirt was caked along the floor mats.
“You want music?” Rory reached over and flipped on the radio. A country song warbled through the speakers.
I stared out the window and fought the sadness that seeped into me. Garrett. I was leaving him behind. Was he still in his room or watching me leave? Did he know that I intended to bring him down? That whatever sins he’d committed two years ago wouldn’t stay buried as long as I drew breath?
“I used to hunt out here before they built the Lodge. Seems like now, though, they scared the game away. Too many people, you know?” Rory cleared his throat. “Hey, I’ve been meaning to ask you something.”
“Mmhmm?” I pulled my coat closer around me as I waited for the heater to warm the small space.
“I know this isn’t the most, um, opportune time to ask. But since you’re going to be in town for a little while, would you like to—”
“Shh.” I peered out the window. “Stop the car!” Something in the woods caught my eye. A flash of orange.
The SUV halted, its tires skidding a little over the gravel.
“What is it?” Rory leaned over and stared in the same direction.
“I saw something.” I couldn’t find the mark anymore, but I knew it had been there, the same one from Lillian’s photos.
“What?”
“Come on.” I yanked on the door handle and stepped out into the frozen air.
I walked through the gravel and up onto the short bank next to the road before plunging into the woods.
“Wait just a gosh darn second!” Rory caught up and took my elbow, but he didn’t stop me from walking. “What did you see?”
“Orange.”
“Elise, maybe we should go on back to the Lodge. I don’t think you’ve recovered enough.”
I stopped and turned to him. “I’m not crazy. There’s a mark. I think it’s on one of these trees. I have to find it. If you don’t want to help me, go back to the truck, but I will find it.” I ripped my elbow from his grasp and clambered over a fallen tree, my boot slipping in the snow along the top.
“Jeez, woman. No need to get mad.” He followed and took my elbow again, helping me along.
“Keep looking.”
He scanned the trees as we maneuvered around a fallen branch. “What kind of mark?”
“It’s like a circle with a squiggle through the middle.”
“Like the Ghostbusters thing?” He tipped his hat back on his head.
“Yeah, kind of like that.”
“That’s familiar. I’ve seen that in these woods.”
“In Blackwood?” I stuffed my hands in my pockets to avoid the chill.
“No. Never out on that side of the county. Only over here.”
“Here? What, like at the Lodge?”
“Yeah.” He helped me over a small stream. “I reckon that’s right. It’s just a hunter’s mark, to remind them where the game trails are.” He pulled me to a stop. “It’s nothing, just a hunter’s mark, okay?” He put a hand to my cheek. “You’re already frozen. Let’s go back.”
“No.”
“Why?” Exasperation colored the word, but once again, he helped me walk farther into the woods.
“Because I saw photos of that mark. I saw a grave near one of those marks. A mass grave.”
“A mass grave? In Millwood County?”
“Yes,” I hissed. “There’s something out here. I thought it was at Blackwood.” A burst of orange caught my attention. “There!” I pointed.
He peered through the woods. “Yeah, there it is.”
We trudged over to the marked tree, and Rory ran his hand over it. “Just a hunter’s mark, like I said.”
“No. There’s more.” I took a few more steps, my eyes trained on the ground. “A clearing. Right up ahead.” And something else, highlighted by the dusting of white. “Come on.” I hurried forward, almost jogging through the trees
until I found it.
“Whoa, what is that?” Rory caught up and stopped next to me.
I looked from the ground to him. “It’s—”
A shot went off, and one of Rory’s eyes exploded as the bullet cut through his skull.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
MY BACK HIT THE nearest tree, and I slid down into a crouch. Rory lay face up, his legs kicking slightly before he stilled. He’d fallen sideways, his body lying at the edge of the same mass grave from Lillian’s photo.
I bit the back of my hand as I searched through the woods and tried to think of a way out. If I could get to the clearing, maybe I could run through it and into the trees—
“Elise?” A familiar voice yelled to me through the woods. “Don’t move. I’m coming to you.”
“Sheriff?” My eyes flickered from tree to tree and then back to Rory. My breakfast rose in my throat at the splash of gore staining the snow-dotted ground.
Approaching footsteps flicked the switch to my fight or flight, and I took off, racing through the trees. I zigged hard left into the clearing and raced across the uneven ground, the dead blades of grass slapping against my legs.
“Elise, stop!” The footsteps behind me intensified.
Mortal terror gripped my insides and twisted them. I put everything I had into my steps, my muscles burning as I gained the opposite tree line and hurdled a fallen trunk with a sloppy jump. Skidding as I dropped back to the ground, I lost my footing and fell hard on my side.
“Stop!” Another voice ahead of me.
Fuck. I scrambled to my feet and darted to the right. Another shot, and a stinging pain erupted in my side.
I shrieked and fell against the nearest tree.
“Stop running, you stupid bitch!” The voice from ahead of me grew louder.
I pressed my palm to my stomach, but I didn’t know what sort of damage lay beneath my coat. Each breath felt like a knife stab, and I sank to my knees, the cold earth welcoming me as I rested my forehead against the elm tree in front of me.
“Got another fucking mess on my hands.” Mayor Freeman emerged from the trees ahead of me, a high-powered rifle slung over his shoulder. “Am I a magnet for dumb bitches? Is that it? I feel like that has to be it.”
